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Peoples from around the world join calls to stop the killings, resist tyranny in PH

Posted on 10 December 2017

Philippines, December 10 (Int'l Human Rights Day) - On November 23, President Rodrigo Duterte terminated the peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) via Proclamation 360. The peace negotiations could have been for the government of the Republic of the Philippines to seriously address the root causes of the longest civil war in Asia and foster just and lasting peace in the country.

Before and after his termination of the peace talks, Duterte had issued verbal threats to crack down on progressive groups. Since then, human rights groups had documented several cases of illegal arrests and detention involving leaders of workers and peasant organisations, development workers and rights defenders; killings of peasant leaders, fisherfolk, indigenous peoples, women rights defenders, environmental defenders, youth and even church people. The lumad indigenous peoples in southern Philippines have also decried continuing Martial Law and militarisation of their communities.

The administration's drug war, on the other hand, has killed thousands in the country including at least 31 minors. Critics decry that police forces have been given the license to kill on the pretext of the drug war. After a brief stint with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, implementation of the drug war was recently assigned back to the Philippine police.

This deteriorating situation of human and people's rights in the Philippines have been condemned by peace-loving peoples around the world. On International Human Rights Day, let us take a look at some of those who continue to join the calls to stop the killings, and to fight tyranny, in the Philippines.

Spain

United States

Pictured: Representative from the Workers World Party delivering a solidarity statement (ICHRP-US)